There is a growing trend for Australian’s to wander locally; to explore our own backyard, to zig zag across our own country, whether that’s camping, back-packing or living out of a van. Lee Atkinson is a great advocate for this type of slow, local travel. Freelance travel writer, photographer and author of 11 books, Lee is a well-seasoned Australian traveller; having recently completed an epic 10-month road trip driving 40,000 of the roughest, toughest and dustiest kilometres on a lap of mainland Australia. Towing a camper trailer with a 4WD ute, her road trip took her across some of the country’s most iconic landscapes and destinations and into places where few other travellers roam. We chat to Lee about why she chooses to travel this way and some of her favourite secret spots in our great country.

 

Why have you chosen to explore our country in a slow fashion rather than jetting around the globe like increasingly so many are choosing to do?

I hate sightseeing; while I love looking at monuments and museums as much as anyone else, I much prefer to get in amongst things when I travel, whether it’s overseas or here at home in Australia. Travelling with a camper trailer forces you to slow down, and not just when you’re driving. Because it takes a while to set up and break camp, you tend to stay put for a couple of days at each spot you stop, giving you lots of time to really explore an area. When we stay in a national park we usually spend at least two or three days on the walking trails, and by the time we leave, you feel like you have a much better understanding of the landscape.  I also really enjoy exploring small towns, getting to know locals. For me travel is about the experiences you have and learning about how the world works from the people you meet along the way, not just about looking at things and ticking things off lists. I’d much rather spend more time in less places than the other way around.

What are your top 5 must-haves for travelling Australia?

Sunscreen, good walking shoes, a satellite phone (mobile phone coverage is non-existent in the outback), camera and a sense of adventure.

But if we’re talking about driving around Australia, then it’s a good GPS, a satellite phone, a spare tyre, long-handled shovel (in case you get bogged) and more drinking water than you think you’ll need.

 

If you could take a foreigner to any three spots to experience Australia, where would they be?

So much of Australia is like nowhere else, so choosing just three spots is tricky, but if I had to choose…

Australia’s deserts are really extraordinary – I love watching the reactions of international visitors when they are confronted by so much space, and how they react to the sense of being alone in the world that you have on some of our remote outback tracks – so Corner Country (where SA, NSW & Qld meet north of Tibooburra) would top my list with its mix of desert landscape, iconic frontier towns, classic outback pubs, explorer history and plenty of kangaroos, emus and other wildlife.

Next I’d head to south-west Tassie, to show them the World Heritage rainforest.

And then we’d finish off in north-eastern Arnhem Land, camped on a beautiful white sand beach, visiting indigenous art centres and introducing them to world’s oldest living culture.

 

What has been one of your most memorable travel experiences?

Rockhopping down a remote gorge on Mt Elizabeth Station, about halfway along the Gibb River Road, we stumbled across a gallery of sacred Wandjina figures.  The Wandjina is the supreme creator, and it might sound a bit fanciful, but you really could feel the power radiating from the rock face – or maybe it was the heat! – but whatever it was at work underneath that rocky overhang in the middle of the Kimberley left us gazing in silent awe for quite some time.

 

Is there anywhere left in Australia that you haven’t travelled?

Driving the Canning Stock Route from Wiluna in WA north to Halls Creek in the Kimberley is at the very top of my bucket list. It’s 1900km across remote desert country, with no fuel, food or water along the way, so it takes a bit of planning, but I’m hoping to do it one day soon. I’ve also never been to Rottnest Island – I’d love to get a selfie with a quokka!

 

To see more of Lee’s adventure or to plan your own, you can grab a copy of her books Camping Around Australia and Explore Australia by Camper Trailer.